Pumpkin, Carrot and Ginger soup with Strawberry sauce - yes really

Is it cold where you are? Here is a plain soup with the comforting warmth that only ginger can give and with a kick as well caused by adding just a little too much chilli . . .

- The base begins with an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped or squashed and left cooking slowly in some olive oil.
- Grate a thumb sized piece of ginger root and add to the onion along with half a red chilli sliced up.
- Leave to cook slowly for fifteen minutes or so until soft.
- Scoop out the onions etc into a bowl, turn the heat up and put in two carrots peeled and roughly chopped and about the same amount of pumpkin.
- Stir them around a bit until they start to brown at the edges.
- Put the onions etc back in along with a pint and a quarter of vegetable stock.
- Bring to a boil then turn down the heat and leave to simmer until all is soft.
- Liquidise smooth, return to the pan and squeeze in half a lemon and some salt and pepper if it needs it.

Just then Nicola came back . . . .

" Peter, it's 30 degrees out there - why are you making soup?" (30 centigrade is 86 fareinheit by the way)

"errrrrm . . . . " good question I thought, trying to think of a clever answer and stalling my brain in the process.

I hid behind the fridge door until she went away.

And found some strawberries that were a bit past it for eating. Now strawberries go with lots of different things, so popping a strawberry into my mouth I had a spoonful of soup. The result was rather nice.

Hence I liquidised a couple of handfuls to make a sauce to serve with the soup. And after a short competition to see who could make the best swirl we ate lunch outside in the heat.